Is modern always better?
I think a lot of us assume that things made lately are superior in quality to thing made years ago. That is certainly true for computers, which keep getting faster and more powerful. It is true for most technology. But, I’m not so sure it’s true for the simple things in life.
One could absolutely argue that houses are not built with the solid construction of 50 or even 30 years past. Houses might go up quicker now, but they are like paper houses compared to the sturdy homes assembled in the 1960s.
I am putting the clothes I do not want to go into storage into some of my suitcases. I have some lovely bags, but they are all soft-sided and upon inspecting them I see little cuts and rips that are a result of typical wear and tear from traveling on airlines. It made me think of the old Samsonite luggage commercial with the gorilla beating up a suitcase and how sturdy the old hard-sided suitcases were. I looked in the garage and found my old suitcase from when I was a teen and as scuffed as it was, the hard sided case is in tip top shape.
I was also sorting through old bins of toys from my childhood and getting them re-packed for storage. So many of my baby toys are made of wood and metal. And while they may not be as safe for babies as today’s plastic parts, the gears and casings are almost all still working, while the toys I’ve bought my own daughter seem to break and wear out within a year.
The antique furniture I have in the house is absolutely more solid and well-joined than anything I have bought in my adult years. The craftsmanship of days gone by has been replaced by assembly line manufacturing and less expensive materials.
Perhaps I am just feeling nostalgic, but I almost wish I could take my technology with me and then step back into time.
Sigh, yes, you are getting old(er). You’re a victim of a misperception that a lot of Americans suffer from. That gorilla wasn’t jumping on a Samsonite bag. He was jumping on an American Tourister suitcase.
By the way, AT is now owned by Samsonite, which doesn’t lessen the confusion.
All of that stuff can be recycled into a modern use. I have a 1,200 year old Japanese bowl that I use to store my extra car keys in. The local museum is having a fit that I haven’t given it to them yet. I keep telling them. I’m using it. Other people would just look at it.
Have a good day.